I think everyone is familiar with this photo of Senate Climate-Change-Denier James Inhofe using a snowball as evidence that climate change doesn't exist. It was snowing outside in Washington that day in the winter, so climate change can't be real, he posited. Which of course is ridiculous. Weather isn't climate. Weather patterns over long periods of time are climate. Besides, there is more to Climate Change than just global warming, which if the Senator would talk with a science teacher, he may understand.
Climate Change doesn't mean that the Earth is ONLY getting warmer. It means that due to global warming brought upon by ever increasing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, which can and has been directly traced to the burning of fossil fuels by humans, weather patterns over time begin to change. Summer gets longer, Spring and Fall get shorter. Winters can get nastier, storms get stronger. Places around the world get more rain than the normally get on average and there are floods, while others get less and suffer droughts. Sure, these things happen and have happened for millions of years. But, the frequency and the magnitude is increasing. The Extremes get more extreme. The Earth is warming much faster than at any other time that scientists can determine. We can look back at the climate changes over the past million years or so and what we see happening now is unprecedented. Rapid change makes it harder for life to adapt, which leads to mass die offs of species, which is taking place all over the world.
This report shows that 2015 is on its way to becoming the hottest year on record, beating the previous record year, which was...2014. Ouch. Not good. Hotter temperatures change the local environment and can shift weather patterns, creating a different climate. Where I grew up in Southern Maryland, you could set your watch by the 4 year snow storm that brought us 20+ inches of snow. Every four years. I vividly remember as a kid those years because we were usually out of school for a week! '79, '83, '87, '91, '96, '00. But, now storms like that are becoming more frequent and the four year interval is less predictable. 2010 saw the four year storm, but then we had another winter with heavy snows in 2013. And again in 2014. The winter of 2015 saw a ridiculous amount of snow in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (just ask my cousins) and they prediction for this coming winter is again looking like heavy snow along the Eastern Seaboard due to a VERY strong El Niño. As you can see, all of this gets complicated.
What I have noticed is that when discussing weather patterns, people get angry and things can get contentious. Some dismiss weather changes as normal and ignore the new emerging patterns. But weather patterns aren't the only way to recognize climate change. It can also have an effect on the local flora and fauna. Trees that once thrived in your area with what the local climate used to be are now stressed and struggling to survive. Too much water, extended drought. Too much rain or not enough has thrown their health out of whack. Animals that were once plentiful in an area suddenly decline in numbers, which has a domino effect on other plants and animals. Warmer temperatures can create ideal conditions for certain bacteria and fungi to grow, which can kill plants and trees. Everything is connected.
What I have noticed is that when discussing weather patterns, people get angry and things can get contentious. Some dismiss weather changes as normal and ignore the new emerging patterns. But weather patterns aren't the only way to recognize climate change. It can also have an effect on the local flora and fauna. Trees that once thrived in your area with what the local climate used to be are now stressed and struggling to survive. Too much water, extended drought. Too much rain or not enough has thrown their health out of whack. Animals that were once plentiful in an area suddenly decline in numbers, which has a domino effect on other plants and animals. Warmer temperatures can create ideal conditions for certain bacteria and fungi to grow, which can kill plants and trees. Everything is connected.
Where we live now, in Southern Germany near the Alps, I have talked at great length the locals about the weather: is it the same as it was 20 years ago? Has anything changed? Is it warmer in the Summer? In the Winter? Does it snow more often or less? Are the thunderstorms more frequent and more powerful? What about insects? Everyone that I have talked to says the same thing: 20 years ago, Autumn started at the end of August but now it starts closer to the end of September. Mosquitoes are a much bigger pest than ever before, they say. Local trees (in yards and in the forests) are struggling in the Summer months due to the reduced rainfall. House fly and Wasp populations have exploded; no one remembers them being so bad, and we live deep in cow country so flies have always been around. This is a place where they don't normally have screens for their windows, but now most people are installing them because these insects have become a major issue.
Of course, this is all unscientific. I have to admit that. I'm just out asking questions, getting to know people and trying to improve my crappy german. But, the people I am talking to have lived here most if not all of their lives. We are talking about old farmers, bent-backed from hard work, school teachers, gray-haired and stress-wrinkled from years in the schoolroom. People who's families have lived here for generations. People who learned how to work the land from their parents. That's DECADES of experience, observing the environment and refining methods to be a successful farmer. And now, their methods are not enough due to the changing climate.
I find it all fascinating and worrisome. Which is why Inhofe's snowball really frosts my little red wagon. The naysayers always focus on one thing, and that's weather. But it's not about weather, not really. Weather is a factor, but its the weather patterns that we are talking about and studying. They are changing, which bring about other more measurable changes like increases in insect populations or declining plant populations. So if you notice that there are more mosquitoes or a certain weed is suddenly everywhere and you can't fight it back, it may be because where you live the climate has changed enough to create different conditions, conditions that those insects of weed just so happen to thrive in. Something to consider the next time someone throws a snowball and tells you the world is getting colder.
